This post is part of a series I’m calling The Mother’s Project, where I will be highlighting the incredible moms in my life throughout the month of May. Check back next week for more posts!
Joyful may seem like a small word, one that is overused or thrown in to a list of adjectives to make a sentence sound a little fuller. But please don’t underestimate its presence (or power) in my friend Sara’s life.
I met Sara before I even moved to Colorado. She was one of my “inherited” friends. I have a whole group of these: people who knew Travis long before they knew me and who graciously adopted me into their crew when I moved here. Let me just say—I got so lucky with this group. I would have chosen them with or without Travis. He picked really great people. I met them all almost a year before my very scary cross-country move and they were literally the bright light at the end of that tunnel. (Well, plus you, husband.)
Anyway. Back to Sara. She has only been a mother for two months, so this post will probably more about the mother I know she is going to be. But first, I’ve already seen her best qualities magnify as a result of motherhood. If you had the pleasure of meeting Sara before Colin was born, you would have found someone who could turn any difficult situation into something to laugh about. You would have met someone who brought light into every room she entered. You would have met someone who brought the fun, every single time you hung out.
And the joy she had before, found in the small things in life, is still present and perhaps even more intense now.
As a new mom, she has been sleep-deprived, exhausted, and covered in lots of bodily fluids. But I haven’t seen her without a smile once. She can’t stop beaming at her little Colin. It’s so fun to watch her truly grasp the feeling of unconditional love. It’s also fun to hear her try to explain the feeling to me. The explanation is just full of giggling and smiling.
Sara has many friends—she’s just one of those people that relates to everyone. She makes you feel important, which gives her a very magnetic quality. Some new moms retreat a bit after having a kid (and I totally get that … if I had a child, I would never leave my house), but I don’t see that happening to Sara at all. I see Colin becoming a a centerpiece to her interactions, drawing even more people into her circle. I feel like there are many margarita happy hours in his future.
I also see a childhood filled with daily adventures. Sara won’t take him on walks, she’ll take him on journeys, pushing him to use his imagination and create storylines for their activities. There will not be simple meals for Colin—I’m sure there will be sound effects for each bite and sandwiches cut into bear shapes. There will be backyard camping, midnight snacks, and spontaneous trips. That kid is going to laugh more than he speaks and will wake up each morning wondering what his fun mom has in store for him that day.
Sara lives life constantly in motion, thinking about her friends and family and how she can serve them well. She taught elementary school for almost a decade and I know the students in her school just couldn’t wait to have Mrs. Cosenza as their teacher, and the parents were always equally thrilled. She is constantly wondering if she is doing enough, like most women I know. Let me just take a moment to talk to her directly here …
Sara, you are doing plenty. You have always been a great friend, teacher, wife, and daughter. And now? Your most important role is being that boy’s mama and you’re the best one in the world for him. You are already rocking motherhood and I can’t help but think that if Colin could speak, he would tell you the exact same thing. Thank you for letting us witness this amazing season of your life—it is truly a joy to watch!